Mark Smith (auto racer)
| Mark Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
April 10, 1967 Portland, Oregon |
| Retired | 1994 |
| CART Championship Car | |
| Years active | 1993-1994 |
| Teams |
Arciero Racing Walker Racing |
| Starts | 26 |
| Previous series | |
| 1988 -1989 1989 1990 -1992 |
Formula Super Vee Formula Pacific Indy Lights |
| Championship titles | |
| 1989 | Formula Super Vee |
| Awards | |
| 1989 1990 |
Formula Pacific Rookie Award Indy Lights Rookie of the Year |
Mark Smith (born April 10, 1967, Portland, Oregon) is an American racing driver. Now retired, he competed in the CART IndyCar Series.
Smith entered karting competition at the age of 14 and won 6 championships in multiple IKF divisions. In 1985 he moved up to Formula Ford scoring 4 race wins in two seasons and then advanced to Formula Super Vee.
After winning the 1989 United States Formula Super Vee Championship with 5 wins and 4 poles, Mark raced in Indy Lights from 1990 to 1992, finishing 3rd in series points his rookie year, and 2nd in 1991 capturing 3 wins and 5 poles along the way [2].
In 1993 Mark moved up to the CART Indy Car Series racing primarily on road and street circuits for Arciero Racing. Smith qualified twice for the 1993 Indianapolis 500 but was bumped from the field. His second bumping at the hands of Didier Theys happened just 6 minutes before the end of qualifications that year, an outcome that added to the Speedway myth about The Curse of the Smiths. Mark qualified for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and was bumped from the field by Bobby Rahal. With 14 minutes remaining Smith made a bold attempt to qualify an ill-handling T93 Lola back-up car. His warm up lap of 221.8 mph was fast enough to make the race. On the following lap he crashed heavily into turn two.
Smith's best Indy Car finish was a 5th place at the 1994 Michigan 500.
() (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Smith has produced a number of short films including Denmark and A House, A Home. He is the co-author of two photography books The Powder Road and Österlandet. Smith is a graduate of University of Oregon.
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